Silver Education

Silver is a great metal that is sometimes under-rated.

 Fine silver is 99.9% silver but is much too soft for most jewelry.  Most silver you see in stores is made from sterling silver which is 92.5% silver with 7.5% alloy.  In the United States it is the law to stamp silver goods with a quality mark if it is silver. Acceptable marks include 925, ster, and sterling. Be careful of buying silver in other countries because the laws for these quality marks are different.

Cleaning
  Taking care of your silver jewelry is also important.  As a jeweler, my opinion might vary from what you read in other places.  I am a fan of polishing cloths.  Always go to the cloth first!  Silver tarnishes due to a naturally occurring reaction with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide in the air.  I have seen people try to stop this process in a number of creative ways (vacuum sealing their tea sets), but the truth is that it is going to happen no matter what.  I like polishing cloths because they don't have harsh chemicals.  Some silver cleaners can harm porous gemstones so if you don't know which chemicals hurt which stones then just go to the cloth.

Plating
  What is rhodium plating? Rhodium is number 45 on the periodic table of elements and is a hard silvery-white metal.  It is a member of the platinum family and is the rarest non-radioactive metal on Earth.  It is widely used in the automotive industry as a key component in catalytic converters.  In the jewelry industry it is used as a plating over white gold and silver.  It makes a great plating because of its hardness and resistance to corrosion.
   I rhodium plate all my silver jewelry to keep it from tarnishing.  Plating, unfortunately, is like an icing on a cake.  It shows any minor imperfection on the "cake" because it is just a very thin layer.  All jewelry has to have a perfect clean polish before it can be plated.  Also, it does wear off eventually.  The rubbing on our clothes, hands, and everything else throughout the day will scratch and wear the plating off.  It is not a permanent solution to tarnishing.
  Rhodium does not adhere directly to silver.  To rhodium plate a silver piece, you have to under plate it first.  Under plating is the process of putting a secondary metal over the silver before applying the rhodium.  I use nickel or palladium as my under plate, but you can also use copper. Ever notice your costume jewelry turning pink after you've worn it for a while?  Copper is a common under plate on most inexpensive white metals.  As you wear off the bright white plate on the outside, you'll see the copper plate coming through.

Why Silver?
  I work with silver a lot and there are many reasons to choose it.  Probably the biggest benefit is the price.  You can get a much bigger bang for you buck in silver jewelry.  Silver is maintainable.  Unlike costume jewelry, silver can be polished, sized, and customized.
  Be a smart shopper when it comes to silver.  Many big box stores use the same molds for their gold jewelry as they do for silver.  This gives you a silver ring that looks like one of those dainty embellished gold rings that sell for so much more, but there is a down side.  Silver is a soft metal!!  A dainty ring is fine in gold, but in silver it will never survive.  I have been repairing jewelry for over ten years and have seen countless rings smashed, cracked, mangled, and broken.  This is why all the silver jewelry I make at NellMarie is made to be silver.  They have wide, heavy shanks with thick prongs or channels.  Make sure the silver jewelry you buy is made to last because it can if you take care of it.
 
For more information, visit my website at www.nellmarie.com

Cleaning Jewelry...

In all my years of being a jeweler, I have noticed that there are those that do and those that don"t.  Cleaning your wedding ring of all things should be important.  In most cases, a wedding ring is an investment.  It is something you or your spouse or the both of you saved for x amount of time.  In some cases, you spent more money on your ring than on a car or home.  Would you buy a Lamborghini and never wash it?

Diamonds have this magnificent property that allows them not to be scratched, or scuffed, or discolored, or worn out.  As long as they are clean, they will be just as beautiful on your 50th wedding anniversary as they are on your first.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

1. Don"t wear your rings gardening, rock climbing, playing sports, or any other activity that could or would cause damage to your ring.  Diamonds CAN CHIP!  Prongs will catch and stones will be lost.

2. If you are not sure what the best way to clean your jewelry is, ask a professional. DO NOT clean your rings with toothpaste.  I am not sure who started this idea but it is simply not the right way.  Toothpaste can leave a film on your rings.  Many brands also have abrasives in them that will not harm your diamonds but could be problematic for other softer stones.  The things that usually make rings dirty are oils from our hands, lotions and perfumes.  Toothpaste is not intended for breaking down grease and oils.

3. DO NOT boil your rings.  I am sorry that this has to be mentioned, but unfortunately there are those of you out there that have tried this.  Extreme heat does not necessarily cut the oils out of your rings.  Also, extreme temperature changes can be damaging to any colored stone.

4. Careful of the silver cleaners!  Many silver cleaners are specific just to silver.  They can be very strong and even though they work well in their intended purposes, they should not be used for all jewelry.  Many of these cleaners strip not only the oxidation (the black tarnish on silver) but the polish as well leaving you with a matte finished piece that has to be re-polished.  Do not use these cleaners on your gold jewelry.  In most cases, silver jewelry is better cleaned with a polishing cloth.  Always go to the cloth first!

5. Have your jewelry inspected regularly.  Most Jewelry stores will tell you every 6 moths is a good time to have your jewelry inspected.  This is true for any piece you wear often to everyday.  Before you start scrubbing your own jewelry, have a professional check that all your stones are tight.

6. Homemade Jewelry Cleaner:
Combine these ingredients in a small baby food jar and keep it by the sink.  Use an old worn out toothbrush (leave the toothpaste in the bathroom:) to do the scrubbing.

1/3 Water

1/3 Dawn dish washing liquid

1/3 sudsy ammonia

Sudsy ammonia is hard to find sometimes.  It is a lower strength ammonia for cleaning.  If you are unable to find it, do not use regular ammonia.  Use 2 parts water and one part Dawn.  The dish washing liquid is made to cut grease and oils and will do wonders cleaning your ring.  Hint: make sure all the soap is rinsed out of your ring before putting it back on.